Comprehensive Scoring Analysis

Good news for wild swimmers as bathing water quality improves 25 November 2025 Mark Poynting , Climate and science repo…

Out of the 449 sites regularly tested this summer, 93% met minimum standards for levels of bacteria in the water, linke…

That is better than the 92% of 2024.

Overall, 32 sites were rated "poor" - down from 37 in 2024, which was the worst year since the new measurement system b…

The government said its reforms to bathing water rules will help further, but campaigners said that swimming in England…

Water Minister Emma Hardy said: "These changes sit alongside our wider action to clean up our waterways so communities …

" A spokesperson for industry body Water UK said that the quality of England's bathing water remains high and that comp…

The Environment Agency (EA) monitors levels of bacteria at bathing water sites in rivers, lakes and the sea across Engl…

Levels of bacteria are affected by pollution from sewage spills, agriculture and other sources - but can also be affect…

The summer of 2025 was particularly dry.

All else being equal, that should lead to less pollution, with less runoff from rainfall.

The latest figures cover a four-year period from 2022 to 2025, where measurements are available.

They show a rise in the percentage of sites with the top rating of "excellent" to 66%, up from 64% last year.

The percentage of sites rated "poor" – failing to meet minimum standards – fell from 8% to 7%.

But that is still the second highest figure over the past decade.

Alan Lovell, chair of the EA, said: "Bathing water quality in England has improved significantly over recent decades, a…

"But we know there is more to do, and the new bathing water reforms will strengthen the way these much-loved places are…

More bathing sites have been added in recent years, effectively requiring more places to meet the highest standards for…

Bathing sites in rivers performed much worse than those in the sea, where the vast majority of bathing sites are locate…

Of the 14 river sites, only two met the minimum standards.

Many of these rivers were only added to the list of monitored bathing sites in 2024, which can complicate comparisons o…

The EA says part of the reason that water quality is poorer in rivers is because salty seawater can act as a natural di…

Rivers are often closer to pollution sources too.

James Wallace, chief executive of River Action UK, described the results for England's river bathing water sites as "de…

"Despite being our most protected river sites, the government's own data shows that swimming in our inland bathing wate…